


Of Ears and a Tail

by WaterWolf600



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-10-02
Packaged: 2018-07-24 18:44:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7519162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaterWolf600/pseuds/WaterWolf600
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[Various!Naruto Characters x Various!Neko!Reader]</p>
<p>[Name] is different than most others. With the abnormalities she has, it's a wonder why they don't treat her like Naruto. But word doesn't spread far and rumours don't really develop over a young child brought into the village. To them, she's just any other ninja, but with just some small physical differences as to compared to the rest. And some blank spots in her history makes things a tad bit complicated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

_Running. It seemed like the only thing the figure now knew. It held a small figure clutched in the arms. It growled slightly as it recounted the events that had only happened moments before. Screams. Shouts. Crying. They would be embedded into the mind. Nightmares would rise. But for now, the job was to protect the fragile being in its arms. Not to sit down and cry its eyes out._  
  
As its destination slowly appeared, the figure slowed down slightly. It was quiet in the night. Slipping past the night guards, the figure laid down the young being just in the village gates.   
_**"Stay safe [Name]. Stay safe.**_ __ **"** With that, the figure slipped back into the shadows.


	2. ˜”*°• [ichi]  [一] [いち] •°*”˜

**"We'll be reviewing the Transformation Jutsu!"** After the small lecture, Iruka's sudden outburst was a big surprise to the entire class. [Name]'s [hair colour] wolf ears immediately disappeared and the girl was left with a forked tongue flickering in and out of her mouth. If inspected closely, her teeth seemed to be a bit longer and sharper. In other words, her face seemed a bit more snake-like.  
  
 **" _What?!_ " **Half the class screamed out the same word, the other half groaned.  
 **"Everyone line up!"** [Name] had to praise Iruka for somehow ignoring the protest that sprang from the mouths of the class. But regardless, they obeyed.  
 **"Transform perfectly into me!"** One by one, the students were called up and each transformed into Iruka.   
 **"Next is [Name]."** Instantly hushed whispers broke around the room, all talking about [Name]'s missing last name and the lack of a history.    
 **"Apparently, her mum and dad are both missing-nins."  
"No, weren't they of the Sand village?"  
"My parents say she was the child of a tailed beast. You know, with those  _differences_."**  
Iruka and [Name] paid no attention and the latter walked up. Forming her hands quickly into the needed signs, the girl got ready.  
 **"Transform!"** _Poof._ A replica of Iruka stood in front of him. He nodded and [Name] transformed back. Cat ears and tails had replaced her forked tongue and teeth. Her ears twitched slightly.  
  
  
 **"Next, Uzumaki Naruto."** Naruto stomped off to the front.   
 **"This is all your fault."** Another told the blond.  
 **"Like I care."** He simply retorted. His hands moved to form the hand signals.  
 **"Transform!"** What she saw next caused [Name]'s cat ears to immediately transform into her mouse ears. The girl squeaked quietly and looked down. A faint  _poof_ sounded and Naruto was back in his original form.  
 **"Hahahahahaha!"** The boy was bending over and laughing hysterically.  **"I call this one 'Sexy no Jutsu!"**  
 **"** _You moron!! Don't invent stupid skills!"_ Boy, was he mad.  
  


~~~

  
The day of the exam had arrived a little late for her. [Name] was bored. Her wolf ears flopped down from boredom as she listened to Iruka's words.  
 **"In order to graduate, you'll have to do the clone jutsu. When you're called, come to the next room."** [Name] scoffed lightly.   
 _'_ _That simple?'_ The female thought. But the male sitting next to her seemed to be visibly panicking. Sighing, [Name] decided it would be best to comfort him seeing as she seemed to be the one sitting next to him that day and who seemed to talk to him.  
 **"C'mon Naruto. You'll be fine."** The female told him while patting his spiky hair.  
 **"But the clone jutsu is my worst jutsu!"** The male panicked. [Name] was about to respond when she heard her name. The [hair colour]-ette quickly hopped from her seat and walked to the next room. 

Forming the hand signs, [Name] made her clones. Iruka nodded.  
 **"Pass."** [Name]'s wolf form changed into her cat form. The girl took a headband from the desk and turned towards the teachers.  
 **"Thank you very much!"** The girl was clearly happy.

~~~

[Name] would have been lying if she said she wasn't surprised to see Naruto the next day, with him and clone jutsus. Her cat ears twitched and she started walking up to Naruto. But it turned out another genin had the same question as her.  
 **"Naruto, what the hell are you doing here?"** He questioned the blond, obviously very confused.  **"Only those who passed the exam are supposed to be here."** [Name] sighed quietly. He had obviously missed something important which she herself had also just realised.  
 **"Hey, hey, can't you see this?"** Naruto pointed to the headband resting on his forehead. It was then when [Name] turned her attention away and walked to the desk behind Naruto and the girl sat down and started to daydream slightly.

It was only a few moments when a voice snapped [Name] out of her thoughts.  
 **" _Naruto! Leave Sasuke-kun alone!"_** The voice clearly belonged to Sakura. What [Name] saw was something she didn't expect. Naruto glaring intensely at Sasuke, even going the extra length of jumping up onto the table, the two's faces only mere centimeters apart.  
 ** _"Kick his ass, Sasuke-kun!"_** Most of the girls in the class screamed, clearly supporters of the ravenette. The thought that popped into [Name]'s mind was very obviously something Sasuke and Naruto would have been worried about if they had actually seen the fox ears and tail that had replaced [Name]'s cat ears and tail.  
 _'It would be very unfortunate if that guy over there accidentally p-' _[Name]'s little dream had come true. 

The entire room was silenced when Naruto fell forwards. When they made contact, [Name] couldn't keep it in.  
 **"Oh gosh. _Hahahaha!_ " **Fortunately for her, most of the males in the class also had the same reaction. Unfortunately for Naruto, there were quite a few girls who would be at his throat.

~~~

  
 **"You could have at least helped me."** Naruto moaned quietly to the girl behind him. She opened her mouth to respond when Iruka walked in. The class went silent.  
 **"Starting today, all of you are real shinobi. But you are still genin. The hard journey that lies ahead has just started."** He started off.  
 **"Yadda, yadda, yadda. Pretty sure we know all that already."** [Name] muttered miserably, her fox parts were gone and she had gone a little more snake-like. If Iruka had heard her, he ignored the girl.  
 **"Now you will soon get missions to help the village. So today we will create the 3 man teams and each team will have a jōnin teacher. You will follow their instructions in order to successfully complete your missions."** He paused for a moment, as if initiating effect.  
 **"Eh. As long as some specific people are in my team, I'm fine."** [Name] stated to no-one in particular.  
 **"We tried to balance each team's students."  
 _"What?!"_** [Name] didn't need to speak. The rest of the class voiced her opinion. As Iruka started to list off names, she listened out for her own name.  
 **"Next team has..."**  



	3. ˜”*°• [ni] [二] [に] •°*”˜

**"...is Team 7, who consists of Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura,"** Naruto immediately jumped up and cheered, while Sakura lowered her head in disappointment.   
 **"And Uchiha Sasuke."** [Name]'s fox parts changed back into cat parts as she watched the three.  
 _'And they all happened to be sitting on the same desk.'_ The girl turned her attention back as she watched as Iruka listed off the other names. But something struck her and she threw her [dominant side] arm up.  
 **"Iruka-sensei! You haven't ca-"** said male sighed and turned towards her.  
 **"If you had _kindly_ let me finish, I would have explained to you your team would be decided by the luck of the draw." **[Name]'s ears perked up.  
 _'I hope that I get a decent team.'_  
  


_~~~_

  
**"You have got to be kidding me."** [Name]'s mice ears slumped down as she stared at the two haunting letters on the piece of paper.  _Team Seven._  If she had remembered correctly, it consisted of Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke. The team was announced to the rest of the class, with each having different reactions. Most girls' thoughts involved the word  _'Sasuke-kun.'_  It was then Naruto decided to speak up.  
 ** _"Iruka-sensei! Why does an outstanding shinobi like me, have to be on the same team as that idiot over there?!"_** [Name] quietly sighed at his choice of words.  
 **"Sasuke's grades were the best of all graduates and your's was the worst."** Laughter erupted around the class as Naruto pouted.  
  


~~~

A tongue flickered in, then out.   
 **"Not yet."** [Name] told Naruto, who was currently peeking out of the door.  
 **"How would you know?"** He questioned her.  
 **"Snake. Tongue."** She simply replied with a two worded answer, hoping he would get it. He didn't. The whiskered boy tilted his head and shot a questioning look. [Name] simply groaned and waved her hand in a  _'I'll explain later'_ motion. He then went straight back to complaining.  
 **"Why is our teacher so dam late?!"** The boy screamed out in frustration.  **"All the other teams have gone and Iruka-sensei also left..."**  [Name] groaned in annoyance and lowered her head in her hands, only to be startled by a voice.

_**"Hey! What are you doing, Naruto?"**  _It was clear it was Sakura. As she spotted what was happening, [Name]'s tongue disappeared and cat ears were on her head, along with a swaying tail. Naruto was giggling as he carefully placed the chalkboard eraser on the door while balancing on a table.  
 **"That's what you get for being so late."** Naruto muttered to himself as he jumped down. Sakura sighed and merely looked uninterested.  
 **"I'm not involved."** She simply stated as if it wasn't obviously enough on her facial expression.  
 **"Pfft. Like a jōnin would fall for such a stupid booby trap."** Sasuke muttered.  
 **"You never know Sasu-"** [Name] closed her mouth as a partly gloved hand opened the door.  _Poof. Plunk._ It had fallen on the jōnin's head.  
  
As [Name] inspected him, she realised he had a mask over the bottom half of face and his Konoha headband was tilted so it covered his left eye. Confusion struck her and the cat ears tilted to the [dominant side].  
 **" _Hahahahaha!_ You fell for it! You fell for it." **Naruto was hysterical.  
 **"I was simply joking about my previous sentence..."** [Name] sighed.  
 **"I'm sorry sensei, I tried to stop Naruto but..."** Sakura's voice trailed off. The man picked up the eraser and tilted his head back in a mock thinking pose with his hand on his chin.  
 **"Hmm... How can I say this...? My first impression of you is..."** [Name]'s ears perked up, hoping it would be good.  **"I hate you guys."**  
 _'Way to ruin our relationship of teacher and students.'_


	4. ˜”*°• [san] [三] [さん] •°*”˜

**"Well, let's begin with introducing yourselves."** The 4 of them were up on the roof along with their silver-haired teacher. [Name]'s [hair colour] wolf ears were twitching slightly of boredom.  
 **"What do you want to know?"** Sakura questioned him.  
 **"How about your likes, dislikes, your dreams for the future and things like that."** He explained.  
 **"Hey! Why don't you introduce yourself to us first?!"** Naruto demanded. [Name] silently agreed with him on that.  
 **"Yeah, you look kinda suspicious..."** Sakura intervened.  
 _'Suspicious? I guess so...'_ [Name] silently pondered on Sakura's wording.  
 **"Oh me? Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislike..."** Kakashi started off.  
 _'Useful.'_  
 **"Dreams for the future? Hmm..."**  
 _'Useful.'_  
 **"And I have lots of hobbies."**  
 _'Useful. Is this guy even a jōnin?'_ [Name] was a little confused on Kakashi.  _'And he did it with the exact same facial expression! With the same tone of voice!'_  
 **"So all he told us is his name?"** Sakura had turned to the others and whispered the obvious.  
 **"Now it's your turn, let's start on the right."**  
 **"Yes! My name is Uzumaki Naruto. What I like is cup ramen. What I like even more is when Iruka-sensei pays for me ramen. What I dislike is waiting 3 minutes for the ramen to cook..."** Naruto seemed awfully excited about his favourite type of food.  **"And my dream _is to surpass the hokage and then have the people of this village acknowledge my existence!_ "**  
 _'That's interesting.'_  
 **"Hobbies? Pranks, I guess."  
"Next." **Kakashi still had a bit of boredom on his face.  
 **"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are lots of things I dislike and I don't really like anything."** Sasuke had the monotone voice he always wore. Frankly, [Name] wondered for half a second if Sasuke and Kakashi may or may not be related in some way, especially with their interest in life.  
 **"And... I can't really call it a dream... But I have an ambition. The resurrection of my clan and to kill a certain man."** He continued on. Silence hit the area as if the ravenette's words had been heard by all.  
 _'That's a bit creepy.'_ [Name]'s wolf features and changed to mouse ears and tail. She was a tad bit worried for herself for being on Team 7.  
 **"OK, next."**  
 **"My name is Haruno Sakura. The thing I like is..."** Sakura quickly snuck a glance at Sasuke.  **"Well the person I like is... And uhm... My dream for the future is..."** Another glance.  **"What I dislike is _Naruto._ "**  
 _'That just totally improved our team chemistry. Poor Naruto.'_  
 **"My hobby is..."**  Another glance.  
 **"Alright, last of all."** [Name] had cat features now.   
 **"Right, my name is [Name]. I have no idea what my last name is, so don't ask. I like [likes], most animals and other things."**  The girl pondered for a moment, then started off again.  **"I don't really like [dislikes]. My hobbies are [hobbies]. My dream, no not a dream. A goal! To find more information about my family and history."** Kakashi bobbed his head gently.  
  
 **"All of you have very different personalities, that's good. Tomorrow, we'll start our duties as shinobi."**  
 **" _Yeah! What kind of duties?_ " **Naruto was clearly excited as he jumped up from his spot and raised his hand in a salute motion.  
 **"First, we are going to do something with just the five of us."** Kakashi explained.  
 **"What is it? What is it?"** Naruto was back sitting down, shaking from excitement.  
 **"Survival training."** Kakashi said the two words like they were the most obvious things in the world.  
 **"Survival training?"**  Naruto questioned.  
 **"Why is our first duty a training?"** [Name] continued on.  
 **"We've already had enough training at the academy."** Sakura pressed on.  
 **"This isn't a normal training."** Kakashi explained.  **"This time, I'm your opponent."  
"Then what is it?" **Naruto asked him. Kakashi's mask then shifted a bit, as if he was smiling. [Name]'s suspicions were confirmed when he started laughing.  
 **"What's so funny?"** she questioned.  
 **"Well... Um... It's just that when I tell you this, you guys are totally going to freak out."** He was still smiling.  
 **"Freak out?"**  Kakashi's face went serious. After the little 'freak out session,' Team 7 was told of the survival training's information. 5am in the morning wasn't [Name] wanted time of training.  
 **"Oh and skip breakfast unless you want to throw up."** He added.  
 _'How am I supposed to do it then?'_

~~~

[Name] was a little tired in the morning. That was an understatement. [Name] woke up in the morning, her bushy fox tail was down. As she was still in the house, the girl was starting to get hungry. Quickly grabbing an apple, she was about to bite into it when Kakashi's words came back to her.  
 _ **"Skip breakfast unless you want to throw up."**_ he had said. [Name] stared at the apple for a moment, contemplating whether or not to eat it. Her animal instincts won over and she took a bite of the apple, soon finishing it. Then she started making her way to the training ground.   
  
[Name] was expecting her to be late, not Kakashi. But then again, he was late the day before. Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura were waiting there. [Name] had just arrived after them.

  
~~~

  
**_"You're late!"_** Sakura and Naruto simultaneously shouted at the silver-haired male. [Name] was clearly holding herself as a tongue flickered out of her mouth. Kakashi seemed to have a poker face on and lifted his hand in a part-salute motion.  
 **"Good morning guys!"** He slowly made his way towards the young genin, unfazed by the fact Naruto and Sakura may have been ready to slaughter him. The male set down an alarm clock on a log and clicked down on it.  
 **"OK, it's set for noon."** It was quite obvious Team 7 were very confused. Kakashi then held up three bells.  
 **"Here are three bells."** He started off.  
 _'Way to state the obvious.'_  
 **"Your task is to take these from me before the time's up,"** He continued on. **"Those who don't have a bell by noon gets no lunch. I'll not only tie you to one of those stumps, but I'll also eat right in front of you."** Suddenly, a growl erupted from the genin's stomachs.  
 _'That's why we were told not to eat. I just had an apple. That's most likely not enough for me.'_  
 **"You only have to get one bell. There are only two, so one of you will definitely be tied to the stump,"** Kakashi explained.  **"And the person who doesn't take a bell fails, so at least one of you will be sent back to the academy."**  
 _'Can't fail now.'_ [Name] could feel the determination radiating from the others. It was clear each had their own reason to pass.  
 **"If you want, you can use your weapons. You won't succeed unless if you come at me with the intention to kill."** The jōnin went on. [Name] was a bit startled by the fact her let them use weapons so freely.  
 **" _But you'll be in danger!_ " **Sakura shot out.  
 **"Yeah, you're so slow, you can't even dodge the eraser. We'll definitely kill you!"** Naruto had a huge smile on his face and was slightly leaning back with his hands behind his head.  
 **"In the real world, those with no talent often bark the loudest. Well ignore Mr. Last here and start when I say st-"** Kakashi was quickly cut off when he disappeared from in front of them. When [Name] looked next to her, she found Kakashi standing behind Naruto, both in a position that hinted towards the fact Naruto had been angered and tried to attack.  
 **"Calm down. I haven't said start yet."** Kakashi spoke.  
 _'OK. He's a jōnin all right.'_  
 **"Well it seems you're finally prepared to come at me with the intent to kill. So you've finally acknowledged me?"** Once again, Kakashi's mask shifted a bit.  **"Hehe... It's seems like I'm beginning to like you guys."** [Name] smirked slightly. Cat ears and tail twitched of excitement. She was already trying to formulate a plan to get the bells.  
 **"OK, let's get going. Ready..."** The four of them bent down slightly, getting ready to start.  
 ** _"Start!"_**  



	5. ˜”*°• [shi//yon] [四] [し//よん] •°*”˜

Instantly, the four, no, scratch that,  _three_ of them jumped back and hid. Naruto had stayed in the clear land, while [Name], Sasuke and Sakura had jumped back and hid.  
 _'What is he thinking?'_ [Name]'s wolf ears twitched slightly as she watched the small conversation between Naruto and Kakashi.  
 **"C _ome here and fight me!"_** Naruto screamed at Kakashi as he pointed his index finger at said man. Kakashi simply stood there, looking at Naruto with a face that said surprise, worry and confusion at the same time. Actually, [Name]  _assumed_ it was the feelings, seeing as she couldn't really see his face.  
 **" _I said, fight me!"_** Naruto demanded again.  
 **"Compared to the others, you're a little weird..."** Kakashi spoke. The words seemed to spark something in Naruto as he suddenly bolted towards Kakashi with his hands raised.  
 **" _The only thing that's weird is your hair cut!"_** the blond screeched. Kakashi sighed then placed his hand inside a pouch by his thigh. Naruto suddenly stopped and jumped back, getting ready for whatever Kakashi would bring out.   
 **"Shinobi fighting lesson number one. _Taijutsu._ I'll teach you about it." **Kakashi gave little explanation.  
 _'Isn't taijutsu hand to hand combat? But why is he going to take something out?'_ [Name] watched the two with curiosity. But when Kakashi took out a book, she was thoroughly surprised.  
 _'Icha Icha Paradise? Whaaaaaaaaaat?!'_  
 **"What's wrong? Hurry up and attack me!"** Kakashi taunted Naruto as his eyes scanned over the words.  
 **"But what's with the book?"** Naruto questioned.  
 **"I was just curious as to what happens next."** Kakashi explained.  **"But don't worry, it won't make a difference against you guys."** Screaming a battle cry, Naruto jumped towards Kakashi, but the silver haired man easily dodged him. Naruto tried the same moves repeatedly, until he found Kakashi behind him, with his hands a very familiar hand sign.  
 _'Tora... Tiger.... Wait. He's going to kill Naruto and-'_ [Name]'s panicked thoughts were cut off from Sakura's screams.  
 **" _Naruto! Run away! You're going to get killed!"_** her voice was clearly strained. From [Name]'s view, she was quite surprised that Sakura was making an attempt to save Naruto.  
 **"Too late."** Kakashi said. Naruto turned around as Kakashi got ready.  
 _'Here comes the explosions.'_  
 ** _"Hidden Leaf Ancient Taijutsu Supreme technique,"_** Kakashi started off.  ** _"A hundred years of pain!"_** Kakashi simply brought his hands up and poked Naruto in the backside. [Name] groaned quietly and rubbed her head in her hands as Naruto was thrown into the lake, screaming.  
 _'Really?'_ Deciding not to waste anymore time watching the idiots, the girl hopped away on a couple of branches.

  
~~~

  
It was when [Name] heard an ear-piercing scream when she was off-guard. The girl shot to the ground and covered her sensitive ears.  
 _'Ouch. I doubt I can hear properly for the next hour of so.'_ The girl shakily stood up.  _'Judging by the voice, I assume it must be Sakura.'_  
 **"Didn't you hear what I told Naruto before, [Name]?"** Kakashi's voice spoke behind her and [Name] turned and jumped back a few metres.   
 **"I went off before I got contaminated."** retorted the genin.  
 _'Dam it, I couldn't hear him sneak up on me. So he must have used Sakura's scream as an advantage.'_ [Name] took out a kunai from her pouch and got ready for an attack. Instead of Kakashi springing first, [Name] jumped towards him, having decided to distract him with herself, while her tail would nab a bell. But after she jumped, she was knocked back into a tree. Hard.   
 **"Ah, so that _did_ affect you." **were the words [Name] could make out before Kakashi disappeared.  
 _'I couldn't hear him move. I have to at least recover for a while. But it's not long until noon.'_ [Name] winced again, rubbing her ears.

Another scream rang in the air and [Name] dropped to the ground once again. Deciding to have a little chat with Sakura with the amount of noise the pink-haired girl, she made her way to the sound of the voice. As the [hair colour]-ed girl stumbled into the clearing, still rubbing her ears, she didn't expect you find Sasuke in the ground with his head sticking out along with an unconscious Sakura on the ground near him. Sasuke had an unamused face on. [Name] confusion quickly turned to light amusement. Which also meant she had a bushy fox's tail and ears. Sasuke merely growled and got himself out. Sasuke walked over to the knocked-out Sakura and stood over her. As [Name] watched the two, she calmed down mentally and wolf ears and tail were poking out in their respective places.  
 **"Hey."** Sasuke spoke. Like magic, Sakura's eyes opened. She was clearly surprised with the male standing over her.  
 **"Sasuke-kun! You're alright!"** Sakura threw herself onto the unsuspecting male and looped her arms around him in a hug.  
 **"Go away! Don't hug me!"** Sasuke fought back and managed to pry Sakura off.  
 **"There's not much time left until lunch. I'm going again."** Sasuke decided.  
 **"Sasuke-kun, you're still going after a bell?"** Sakura asked.  
 **"Kakashi-sensei's a jōnin, there's not much of a chance if he's using his brain."** [Name] scowled.  
 _'Like using Sakura's voice against me.'_ [Name] bitterly added mentally.  
 **"I already touched it. Next time I'll get one."** Sasuke's confidence about these sort of things, made [Name] a little envious. The girl scowled to herself and went off muttering.  
 **"There's no chance of getting a bell if we just chat away."**

After a short while of scouring, a loud ringing noise rang through the air.  
 **"Thank god it isn't as shrill."** groaned [Name] as she slowly trotted back to where the team had started off.


	6. ˜”*°• [go] [五] [ご] •°*”˜

10 minutes later, the team and Kakashi were sitting in near the logs, along with a tied-up Naruto. In sync, all four of their stomachs started to growl.  
 **"You guys look really hungry."**  Kakashi started off. [Name] simply glared at said man.  
 _'Way to say the obvious.'_ Her [hair colour] wolf ears were pressed against her head out of exhaustion.  
 **"By the way, something about the training."** All four looked up at Kakashi in anticipation.  **"Well... There's no need for you guys to go back to the academy."** [Name]'s eyes widened when she heard the news. She let out a gasp in surprise. Naruto and Sakura were obviously elated, while Sasuke seemed to still be neutral. As [Name] contemplated Kakashi's words, the girl realised that him saying that seemed to be quite out of character.  
 ** _"That means all four of us...!"_** Naruto and Sakura jumped, or moved in Naruto's case, up excitedly. Kakashi smiled.  
 **"Yup, all four of you should quit as shinobi."** [Name]'s ears changed into large, round ears. Shock was clearly displayed on the girl's face. Her animal instincts told the girl to attack the jōnin for daring to tell her such a thing. The girl growled animistically and once again, she had her canine ears again.  
 ** _"Quit as ninjas?!"_** Naruto burst out, clearly irked that he was basically being told to give up on being Hokage.  **"What does that mean?!"** Naruto thought for a short while, then screamed at Kakashi once more.  
 **"OK, OK! We couldn't get the bells, but why _do_ we have to quit?"  
"Because, all of you are just punks who don't deserve to be ninja." **Letting out one final growl, [Name] pounced towards Kakashi. The girl heard Sakura cry out.  
 **"Sasuke-kun!"** Within a split second, [Name] worked out that Sasuke must have also been offended and lashed out as well. As soon as [Name] made eye contact with Kakashi, the girl felt his eyes were dominant and by instinct, the girl immediately went down to all fours and body on ground and rolled over on her back, paws drawn into her body and whimpered slightly. Passive submission was something the girl hadn't wanted to do, but she knew Kakashi, being her teacher was much more dominant and looking into his eyes would only make herself think that even more.  
  
Suddenly, the breath was all knocked out of [Name] as she felt something press onto her, restraining her from getting up and attacking Kakashi once again. The girl managed to see that it was Kakashi's foot. Sasuke was also being restrained in a similar fashion.  
 **"And that's why you're punks."** Kakashi simply stated. [Name] slightly growled and attempted to push herself off, but Kakashi's foot pressed her down even more.  
 **"Are you underestimating ninjas?"** Kakashi's tone of voice screamed out  _'lecture!'_ **"Why do you think that you were divided into teams and doing this training?"  
"Huh?" **Sakura questioned.  **"What does that mean?"  
"Basically, you're not understanding the answer to this test."**  
 **"The answer?"** [Name] questioned.  
 **"So, are you going to tell us?"** Sakura asked.  
 **"Yes, the answer to the test."** Kakashi said, then paused.  
 _ **"What's the answer, already?!"**_ Naruto demanded, clearly impatient. Kakashi clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed.  
 **"Geez, it's teamwork."** Everyone widened their eyes at the mention of the one thing they hadn't been doing. [Name] groaned, wanting to hit her head against a wall multiple times to clear the stupidity that had clouded her judgment.   
 **"The four of you working together may have gotten the bells."** Sakura frowned, then burst out.  
 **"What do you mean by teamwork? There are only three bells! Even if we work together and get the bells, one of us would still fail. That just makes us fight each other."**  
 **"Of course! This test is purposely set up to make you fight amongst yourselves."** Kakashi threw the bomb out of the reason of three bells.  
 ** _"Huh?"_**  
 **"The purpose is to see whether you can forget about your own interests and successfully work together under those designed circumstances.** **Yet you guys..."** Kakashi lifted his head up to look at Sakura.  
 **"Sakura, instead of Naruto, who was right next to you, you were only thinking about Sasuke, who was far away."** Kakashi's head turned down to [Name].  
 **"[Name]. You didn't even try to get a bell, let alone try teamwork."** [Name] simply rolled her eyes in annoyance. If Kakashi did see, he ignored her.  
 **"Naruto, you were just running around by yourself."**  Kakashi's head snapped to the whiskered boy.  
 **"Sasuke, you just assumed the others would get in your way and tried to do everything yourself."** Kakashi seemed to press his foot down on the male's head even harder. The silver-haired jōnin looked up to address the rest of the team.  
 **"The duties are done by the team, of course superior individual ability is important to a ninja.** **But what's even more important is teamwork."** Kakashi lectured.  **"Individual play that disrupts the team can put your comrades in danger and even get you killed. For example..."**  
 _'I not looking too forward for this.'_ [Name] had only a split second to react when Kakashi pushed [Name] with his foot, making her roll away towards the rest of her team, then bent down and restrained Sasuke.  
 **"Sakura! Kill Naruto and [Name] or Sasuke dies!"** Naruto and Sakura immediately began to panic, wondering how they got themselves into the situation. Suddenly, Kakashi released Sasuke and began to speak once again.  
 **"You see? If a hostage is taken, you'll have tough choices to pick and somebody will die."** Kakashi said.  **"You will be risking your lives in these duties."**  
  
Kakashi began to walk over a stone with words scratched into them. His eyes seemed to be filled with regret and sadness, though [Name] wasn't too sure.  
 **"You see the numerous names carved on this stone?"** Kakashi questioned.  **"These are ninjas who are recognised as heroes of the village."** Naruto seemed to perk up at the mention of the word 'hero.'  
 _ **"Y'know what? I've decided to get my name carved on the stone as well! I'll be a hero!"**_ [Name] flinched slightly at Naruto's loud and boastful words.  
 **"Ouch Naruto. No need to announce it to the entire nation."** [Name] muttered to him. Kakashi simply let out a sigh.  
 **"But they aren't normal heroes..."  
"Yeah? What kind are they?" **Naruto demanded. Kakashi seemed quite hesitant in telling him as he started to speak, but then stopped himself.   
 **"What?"  
"They are all heroes who died on duty." **Kakashi finally spoke. Naruto's face slowly fell as he realised what it meant for him to have his name carved onto the stone.   
 **"This is a memorial. My best friend's name is carved on here."** As Team Seven slowly let the words of Kakashi sink in, the male started speaking again.  
 **"I'll give you guys one more chance. But after lunch, I'll make it even tougher to get the bells."** [Name]'s eyes widened at she realised what he meant.  
 _'That wasn't his full power just then? He actually was going easy?'_  
 **"Those who still wish to challenge can eat lunch. But just don't give any to Naruto."  
"Huh?"  
"It's punishment for trying to eat by yourself." **Kakashi explained.  **"If anyone gives him any food, they will immediately fail."** [Name] frowned slightly, feeling a bit sorry for the hungry boy. Kakashi tilted his head slightly down, casting a shadow over his only visible eye.  
 **"I am the rules here."** The man said in a dark voice.  **"Got it?"** Kakashi then disappeared. Naruto forced on a smile and shouted to his teammates.  
 **"Heh! I don't need any food! I'm fine!"** Naruto was betrayed by his stomach when it started to rumble loudly. He smiled sheepishly.  
  
Sasuke, Sakura and [Name] were all eating. Naruto was watching the three eat in front of him. Sasuke, clearly annoyed with something, raised his bento to Naruto.  
 **"Here."** Out of all three of them, [Name] thought that Sasuke was the least likely to give food to Naruto.   
 **"But Sasuke..."**  [Name]'s voice trailed off.  
 **"Sensei just said..."** Sakura continued.  
 **"Don't worry, I don't sense him near here. After lunch we'll work together and get the bells."** Sasuke said.  **"Without food, he'll just be in the way and that will only hurt us."** Sakura seemed to look at her own lunch, then to Naruto. Then she held hers up to him. Greatly, amused by the actions of her teammates who had once looked down on Naruto, [Name]'s ears and tails had changed into feline ones. [Name] pushed away Sakura's lunch from Naruto, then held her own near him.  
 **"C'mon, Sakura, you're still hungry, right? I can smell it on you."** Sakura nodded and took hers back. [Name]'s tail picked up a spoon, scooped up [favourite food] and neared towards Naruto's mouth.  
 _'Good-bye, precious [favourite food]...'_ On the inside, [Name] was silently waving good-bye as it disappeared down Naruto's throat.  
  
 _Boom!_ [Name] dropped down the spoon and jumped back to face the explosion.  
 **"What is this?"  
 _"You guys!!"_** Kakashi's voice rang out from the cloud. All four genins were surprised. [Name] squeaked quietly, hoping not to die at such a young age. The girl was scared for her life and her feline features were suddenly replaced by her rodent ones. [Name]'s thin tail curled slightly around her thigh, the girl closed her eyes and threw her [dominant arm] over her face as if to protect herself.  
 **"Pass~ ♡"** Kakashi said in a tone that did not match his previous actions. His visible eye was closed and judging by it, he was smiling.   
 **"Huh?"** [Name] was clearly confused.  
 **"Pass? But why?"** Sakura asked.  
 **"Sakura, please don't make him change his mind."** [Name] muttered.  
 **"You're the first."** Kakashi said.  
 **"Uh...?"  
"Everyone else would just do whatever I told them to. They were all just morons." **Kakashi smiled.  **"A ninja must see underneath the underneath."** Naruto seemed a bit startled that Kakashi had just told him something similar again.  
 **"Those who break the rules of the ninja world are called trash."** Kakashi tilted his head upwards.  **"But, you know what? Those who don't take care of their comrades are _lower_ than trash." **[Name] smiled and tilted her head upwards with determination.  
 **"That ends the training. All of you pass!"** Kakashi gave a thumbs-up that only his hand seemed to be joining in.  **"Starting tomorrow, Team Seven will begin duties!"**  
 _ **"I did it! I did it!"**_ Naruto was ecstatic.   
  
 **** _"God dam it! I knew this would happen! Untie meeee!"_ Naruto's words fell on deaf ears, even to [Name], who would normally hear most things. Kakashi and the rest of Team Seven walked off, the genin were clearly excited for their missions to come on the next day.  
  


 


	7. ˜”*°• [roku] [六] [ろく] •°*”˜

**"What's the distance to the target?"**  Kakashi spoke into the speaker.  
 **"Five metres. I'm ready anytime."**  
 **"Born ready."**  
 **"So am I."**  
 **"Me too."**  
 **"OK!"** Kakashi got ready.  **"Go!"** Four genins pounced from their hiding places onto the target. The blond male manged to scoop out cat into his arms, but he fell down to the ground when it started to scratch him.   
 **"Ribbon on the left ear... Are you sure this is the target, Tora?"** Kakashi spoke to the four genin through the mouthpiece.  
 **"Yeah, we're sure."** Sasuke responded.  
 **"Good, lost pet 'Tora' search mission, complete!"** Kakashi concluded. [Name] 'tched' at Naruto's pitiful attempts to hold Tora and took the cat from him. As soon as the cat was in her arms, it started to purr as [Name] scratched behind its ears. Naruto simply scowled at the cat.  
  


~~~

  
**_"Nyaaaa!"_** The cat screeched as it was getting hugged.  
 **"Ohh~! My cute little Tora-chan, I was _so_ worried!" **The women cooed at the cat. [Name] looked at the cat with pity.  
 _'I would have run away as well.'_ The girl thought. Seeing that the women was happy, the Hokage in front of them turned towards Team 7.  
 **"Now, Kakashi's Team Seven, your next duty is..."** He held up a piece of paper and started to read off it.  **"Hmm... Babysitting an elder's grandson, shopping in the neighbouring village and helping with the potatoes."** Suddenly, Naruto jumped slightly forwards and crossed his arms over each other to symbolise a cross.  
 **"No, no, no! No, thank you!"** Naruto demanded.  **"I want to do, you know, a more awesome mission! Find us a better one!"** [Name] couldn't help, but slightly agree with Naruto's desire.  
 _'A much better mission would be quite nice.'_ Iruka, who was sitting next to the Hokage, jumped up.  
 **"You idiot! You're just a rookie!"** he started to lecture.  **"Everyone starts off with the simple duties and works their way up!"** The Hokage simply sighed and pulled his Hokage hat down slightly.  
 **"But we keep getting the worst possible duties!"** The blond male retorted back. Kakashi, obviously, getting tired of Naruto's rambling, hit him on the head.  
 **"Be quiet!"  
"Naruto, it seems that I have to explain to you what these duties are all about..." **The Hokage started. Feeling a very long lecture coming up, [Name] decided to not listen and simply focus on the surroundings outside her. She was quickly drawn back to the office as the Hokage suddenly startled her.  
 **"Hey! Listen!"** [Name], startled, nearly jumped and only calmed down when she realised he was directing his words towards Naruto, who was simply deciding on the type of ramen he would have that night.  
 **"I-I apologise..."** Kakashi scratched the back of his head nervously.  
 **"Geez... All you do is give lectures like that."** Naruto whined.  **"But you know what? I'm not the trouble-making brat you still think I am!"** Iruka's facial expression softened and a smile slowly made its way onto his face. The Hokage also started to smile.  
 **"Okay."  
"Huh?" **Naruto obviously wasn't expecting his wish to be fulfilled.  
 **"!!!"** [Name], Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi were obviously surprised on how quick the Hokage had been to give Naruto his demand.  
 **"I'll give you a C-rank mission. It's a protection mission of a certain individual."** He started off. [Name] quickly made some quick hand signs and her feline ears and tail immediately disappeared, the girl didn't want the 'certain individual' to get startled by her abnormalities, especially if they were from another place other than Konoha.  
 **"Yay!"** Naruto, who was still on the floor, cheered.  **"Who? Who? A feudal lord? A princess?"** The Hokage chuckled slightly.  
 **"Calm down, I'm about to introduce him."** He turned his head towards the door, which had started to creak.  **"Hey, will you come in here?"**  
  
The door started to creak open, bringing in the smell of sake that wandered up [Name]'s nose. A man stood in the door frame, obviously drunk judging from the fact the smell and the sight of a sake bottle alerted [Name] to it.  
 **"What's this?"** The man tottered a bit.  **"They are all a bunch of super brats."** The man tilted his head back to down a bit of the bottle he held in his left hand.  **"Especially the shortest one with the super stupid-looking face. Are you really a ninja?"** Naruto scoffed and his head flipped back and forth between his teammates.  
 **"Heh. Who's the shortest one with the stupid fa..."** Naruto's voice trailed off. The rest of his team bunched up together a bit to let him compare their height. Sasuke was taller than Sakura and the pink-haired genin was just slightly taller than [Name], making Naruto the 'shortest one with the stupid-looking face.'  
 _ **"I'll kill you!"**_ Naruto jumped forward, but Kakashi had grabbed onto Naruto's collar before he could make his way to beat up the man.   
 **"What's the point of killing the person we're supposed to protect?"** Kakashi asked a rhetorical question. The man didn't seem fazed by Naruto's anger and started to speak once again.   
 **"I am the super expert bridge builder, Tazuna."** [Name] was a little wary at his words as they already hinted to him boasting about his skills on bridge-building.  **"I expect you to provide me super protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge."**  
 _'Super protection? Seriously?'_ For her first C-ranked mission, [Name] wasn't sure whether to feel disappointed or excited.  
  


~~~

  
The six met each other at the front gates of Konoha. [Name] still had her ears and tail hidden from Tazuna.  
 **"Let's go!"** Naruto threw his arms into the air with excitement and screamed out the two words out.  
 **"What's got you so pumped?"** [Name] asked the boy with curiosity. To her it was just the first of many missions she would soon embark on.  
 **"I've never left the village before."** He responded quickly. Tazuna narrowed his eyes are Naruto. After contemplating something, he pointed his index finger at Naruto and turned to Kakashi.  
 **"Am I really going to be safe with this brat?"** Kakashi chuckled awkwardly.  
 **"Well, I am a jōnin, so don't worry."** Naruto was clearly irked with the older man's comment and turned around to face Tazuna.  
 **"N-Naruto, now's not the time..."** [Name]'s voice trailed off as Naruto started to speak.  
 **"Hey, old man! Don't mess with ninjas!** **I'm incredible!"** Naruto raised his index finger at Tazuna.  **"One day, I will take on the super elite ninja title, Hokage! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! Believe it!"** Unfortunately for him, Tazuna didn't seem to be very impressed or threatened by him.  
 **"Hokage is the village's number one ninja, right? I doubt someone like you could become it..."** Tazuna trailed off.  
 **" _Shut up!_ I am prepared to do anything to become Hokage! Once I become Hokage, you will acknowledge me!" **Naruto had both hands in a fist. Sighing, [Name] pulled Naruto back slightly, hoping for him not to beat Tazuna up in a pulp.  
 **"No, I won't you brat."** Tazuna spoke after thinking for a while.  **"Even if you did become Hokage."**  
 ** _"I'll kill you!"_** Caught by surprise, [Name]'s grip on Naruto broke as he ran. As he ran past Kakashi, the male grabbed his collar and sighed.  
 **"I said stop, moron."** He muttered.

The journey towards the Country of Waves started out a bit pleasant, but it was clear Naruto was still very salty about Tazuna's words to him. The quietness between the six was soon broken when Sakura decided to ask a question about ninjas in the Wave Country, to which Kakashi responded.  
 **"No, not in the Waves. But in most others, the culture and customs may be different. But hidden villages exist and so do ninjas."** Sakura bobbed her head in understatement. To [Name]'s boredom and disappointment, Kakashi then went on into a lecture about the multiple countries, villages and the Five Kages. The [hair colour] girl was quite surprised to hear that the Hokage was actually considered a powerful and great ninja.  
 _'Seriously? He's that good?'_ [Name] was a little worried as to how the village was going.  
 **"You guys just doubted Hokage-sama, didn't you?"** Kakashi asked. The four genins nearly stopped in their tracks out of surprise. Before any of them could responded, Kakashi smiled and started to speak once again.  
 **"But don't worry, there won't be any ninja combat in a C-Rank mission."** As Kakashi said the words 'ninja combat,' [Name] felt something in the air change. She turned her head towards Tazuna, who seemed a little more reserved, especially with his head down. The girl narrowed her eyes slightly at him, but  ~~shook~~  brushed it off as something she was just paranoid of. In her small one-sided glaring contest, [Name] accidentally stepped into a puddle she hadn't noticed.  
 **"Eek!"** Out of instinct, she quickly threw her other leg over the other side. After she had managed to get over the small puddle, suspicions quickly began to flood her mind.  
 _'That's weird. It hasn't rained for a long time. And the puddle seemed_ different _.'_ [Name] bit her lip in concentration.  _'Maybe I was wrong about it seeming different. The transformation jutsu is probably slowly sucking up my chakra.'_

A few steps later, a sudden noise sounded behind them. As soon as [Name] had turned around, something had managed to wrap around Kakashi. Two men were holding something metal, each had one end while the middle had Kakashi all tangled up.  
 **"The puddle!"** [Name] gasped as it hit her.   
 **"One down."** One of the strange men said. Then they pulled in opposite directions and Kakashi just  _died._    
 **"Kakashi-sensei!"** One of her teammates shouted. [Name] let out a growl and pulled out a kunai, getting ready for them again.  
 **"Two down."** This time the voice was behind her.  
 **"Naruto!"** The girl shouted as she turned around and raced around the back. She managed to jump on the back of one ninja as soon as they were getting ready to envelop Naruto in the chains again. Unluckily for her, she seemed to be too light to do much damage, only light enough to startle the man, so [Name] simply stabbed her kunai at the place where the chain connected with the metal glove. Suddenly, it was jerked back into the tree as Sasuke had pinned it there. Staring in amazement at his aim, [Name] was distracted for a split second before she was thrown into a tree  _again._  Dazed for a short while, [Name] faced the battle scene once again to see that one was going for Naruto, the other towards Tazuna and Sakura. The girl knew she wasn't going to reach either in time, so she grabbed her kunai once again and threw it towards the one going for Naruto. [Name] was confident that her accuracy was on point. If she was correct, she was aiming for the neck.

Just as soon as her kunai made contact, both men were pulled into the middle, making a scratch and [Name]'s kunai on the ground. When the girl looked towards it, her eyes widened to see Kakashi. The girl trotted towards the middle.  
 **"Naruto, sorry for not helping you right away. I got you injured. I didn't think you wouldn't be able to move."** Kakashi started to speak. His tone seemed a lot softer than when they had first failed the bell test.  
 **"[Name], good job for a diversion. Don't be so reckless next time."** The silver-haired male turned towards Sasuke.  **"Anyway, nice job Sasuke."  
"Hey..." **Naruto turned his head towards Sasuke's voice. " **You alright... Scaredy-cat?"**  
 **"Naruto, save it for later, their claws are soaked in poison. Don't move too much or it'll spread through your body."** Kakashi spoke.  **"Tazuna-san."**  
 **"W-What is it?"** stuttered the man.  
 **"I need to talk to you."**

A few moments later, Kakashi had the two men tied around a tree.  
 **"These guys are chūnins from the Hidden Village of the Mist."** Kakashi explained.  **"They are ninjas known to keep fighting no matter what."  
"How did you read our movements?" **One asked.  
 **"On a sunny day like this when it hasn't rained in days, a water puddle shouldn't exist."** Kakashi then turned to [Name].  **"You must have felt it when you stepped in it, right [Name]?"** The said girl nodded slightly, then scratched the back of her head.  
 **"I thought something was off..."** [Name] muttered.  
 **"Why did you let the brats fight when you knew that?"** Tazuna asked, clearly not understanding the motives.  
 **"If I had wanted to, I could have killed these two instantly, but there was something I needed to find out."** Kakashi let a small pause. Whether it was for effect or him thinking about his wording, nobody knew.  **"Who the target for these two were after."** Tazuna still didn't understand.  
 **"Were they after you or one of us?"** Kakashi clarified.  **"We haven't heard that there are ninjas after you. Our mission was to simply protect you from thieves or gangs."** By this time, Kakashi was directly facing Tazuna.  
 **"This has now become at least a B-Rank mission."** Kakashi said. [Name] didn't want to listen to the rest of Kakashi's words, knowing it'll be about abandoning it.  
 **"We aren't ready for for this mission so let's quit! We need a medicine for Naruto's wound. We should go back to the village and take him to a doctor..."** Sakura seemed anxious to get back, away from the dangerous world. Kakashi hummed in response.  
 **"This might be too much. I guess we should return to the village to treat Naruto."** Five heads snapped towards Naruto as a grunt of pain and a noise [Name] didn't ever want to hear again sounded. A kunai was in Naruto's poisoned hand.  
 **"Naruto!"** [Name] exclaimed.  **"What are you doing?!"**    
 **"With this kunai..."** Naruto's voice was slightly shaky.  **"I'll protect the old man. We're continuing the mission!"** After his little 'hero' speech, silence started.  
 **"Naruto... It's good that you're releasing the poison, but... Any more and..."** Kakashi seemed to teleport right in front of Naruto. There was an overly-optimistic expression plastered on his face.  **"You're die from lack of blood. ♡"** It seemed to strike Naruto back in his panicky mood.  
 **"No! That's bad! I can't die from something like this?"** He shouted.   
 **"Let me see your hand."** Kakashi was serious once again as he stared at the cut.  
 **"Am I going to be...?"  
"You should be fine." **Kakashi responded coolly.  
 **"Sensei..."** Tazuna spoke from behind. [Name] found it a little weird that he was calling him a teacher.  **"I have to talk to you."**  
 _'Oh boy, is it the explanation?'_ [Name] really did want to know the reason behind everything.


End file.
